Coordinated entry is a process developed to ensure that all people experiencing a housing crisis have fair and equal access and are quickly identified, assessed for, referred, and connected to housing and assistance based on their strengths and needs.

What is a coordinated assessment?Coordinated assessment is a powerful tool designed to ensure that homeless persons are matched with the right intervention, among all of the interventions available in the CoC, as quickly as possible.

The Coordinated Entry System aligns the Single Adult, Family, and Youth Systems into a seamless, collaborative, county-wide platform for housing and service delivery to homeless households.

What is the CoC?

The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote communitywide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers, and State and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promote access to and effect utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

Notes from HUD...

Although it is a requirement under the CoC Program interim rule, we understand that many CoCs are still determining how to implement coordinated assessment. We recognize that implementation may require a significant community-wide change that is not easy and takes time. To that end, there are several options for implementing coordinated assessment thoughtfully over time. One such approach involves implementing coordinated assessment in phases. For example, the system might first be designed to address families experiencing homelessness or chronically homeless individuals, and then would later add other populations after developing valuable experience. Alternatively, CoCs might start with a small group of providers willing to test a specific approach, and then include others after the early adopters have found their footing.

We believe that the implementation of coordinated assessment will improve the delivery of housing and services in the long run, and we want communities to plan for it carefully. The implementation plan must make sense for the CoC, homeless services providers, relevant mainstream service providers, and the individuals and families that need our programs. It is imperative that a comprehensive group of stakeholders take part in the systems design, and that ample time and space are given to stakeholder feedback and performance review during the early stages of implementation.

What is a coordinated entry system?Coordinated Entry System (CES) Referred to as the “match.com” of homeless services, the Coordinated Entry System (CES) streamlines the process of finding housing for those who are chronically homeless — with the goal of housing the most vulnerable people first.